During his visit to Tacoma, Washington, earlier this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited 100 American students from a local high school to study in China next year, The News Tribune reports.
Meeting with 500 Mandela Washington Fellows earlier this week, President Obama praised the “incredible talent” of the fellows and the diplomacy value of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI):
“These connections, partnerships, and friendships forge an understanding that brings our peoples closer together.”
The YALI program is an opportunity to develop global leaders, Obama explained to the fellows:
A recent White House report reaffirmed the “rich cultural experience” provided by the Exchange Visitor Program and commended the State Department for its “comprehensive approach” to the program. The report was created in response to a Presidential Memorandum issued by President Obama to examine ways of improving the U.S. legal immigration system.
The U.S. will re-open its embassy in Cuba this month, continuing the expansion of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the New York Times reports. President Obama announced the plans on Wednesday, adding that Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Havana “to proudly raise the American flag over our embassy once more.”
President Obama noted the “extraordinary” leadership skills of exchange participants during a question and answer session with 75 fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) in Washington, DC this week.
Commenting on the bright futures of the fellows, who represent all ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Obama remarked:
The Japanese government will invest $15 million to support Japanese studies at nine U.S. universities, reports University World News, noting that the funding decision was reaffirmed during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent week-long official visit to the U.S.